Can Only One Child Have Head Lice?

My boyfriend has a two year old daughter he gets on weekends and he brings her over to my house with my two young children. Every time he brings his daughter back to her mother, her mother claims she has head lice. My boyfriends ex wife also claims it's only the nits that she comes home with, but my kids have never had head lice and neither have I or my boyfriend. Plus my daughter gets checked at school every week.

My boyfriend's daughter has also in the past several months come in contact with other children and his ex wife has still said that the every other weekend he does have her, she calls and tells him that his daughter has head lice. So, is possible for only one child to get nits in her hair when no one else in the household or any one who has come in contact with his two year old daughter has it?

Next time your boyfriend brings his daughter over, use RID or another treatment on everybody (including the adults) as a precaution. Wait the recommended time frame (I think it's two weeks) and do it again.

Be sure to wash all linens, spray upholstery (furniture as well as car) with Lysol, etc. beforehand.

Keep everybody squeaky clean.

My kids never had head lice thank goodness -- but I would go through the above motions whenever any of their friends came down with them, and the precautions I took probably helped.

This way *if* she is picking it up from your house (and she's probably not) you can tell her mom what you've done to prevent her from getting lice at your home.

It's possible that the ex-wife isn't treating her house. I had a similar problem. The nits must be removed because that is what hatches to create a bigger mess. I used Rid or a store brand and spray created to kill lice. It's no big deal to get head lice--they love clean hair; the problem is that all parties involved have to clean and treat the problem. It involves many wash loads and don't forget to spray the mattress. Just check the instructions and possibly contact her pediatrician since she is two.

Does she actually have lice? Maybe the mom has a problem with her coming to your house and is using this hoping he won't take her over there. It's strange your kids haven't picked them up from her on these several occassions. Next time you see her, check her hair. If she has nits, they would hatch at some point.

I have many years of experience here and I can say ABSOLUTELY YES, that only one person can have lice!!

My youngest daughter, had battled that problem for too many years! I was at my whit's end! I talked to the pharmacist to see if I was doing something wrong, because it was only her that was getting it all the time. I have long hair and so does my oldest daughter. We only got it the first time when I didn't know what it was and what to look for. I spent a small fortune on the "special" shampoos, vacuum bags, garbage bags, laundry stuff, etc. We cleaned from top to bottom each and every time!!

I swear that I didn't "look" into my poor sweet girl's eyes for years because I was always looking at her hair for nits. We all wanted to scream. I gave up, after a year and a half (or maybe 10 times) calling all her friends' moms and the school. I felt that she was known as the "lice kid"! I found it too hard to believe that she was the "only one" in her big circle of friends that was getting it all the time! ... She wasn't!

Anyway, turns out when her friends moved away, so did the lice. I learned a few things along the way, though. Tea Tree Oil is the best and the cheapest way to get rid of them. Lice is immune to the expensive stuff from the pharmacy. I just kept the small bottle in the shower and added a few drops in my hand along with my regular shampoo. I accidentally found out due to panic, that a flea comb for pets is the best nit comb ever!! LOL! You don't have to wash all the stuffed animals. Just bag them up and put out in the shed or garage for a few weeks. (I still have bags of stuff out there from years ago and never missed it). Good Luck!!!

I'm not asking if my children are going to get it. What I'm asking is if you think that it's possible that his two year old be the only one getting it. Neither of my children have gotten it from her nor I nor my boyfriend or anyone else who's been in contact with her. So his daughter seems to be the only one getting it, but the ex wife never has proof. So that's why I'm asking this question. Is it possible that only that one child have head lice and no one else seems to get it when she's around or has it when she comes over. The ex wife only accusses of head lice on the weekends she gets her back from him.

When your boyfriend takes his daughter back to her mother, have him ask to have the child's head checked then. And check it at your house too. I"ve done many a head check at the school I work for and trust me, you'll know a nit when you see one.

Perhaps you should take her to a doctor to have her checked. If a two year old is being treated for head lice with chemicals, it could be dangerous for her. Ask the doctor to suggest the best way to treat a child this young. Good luck!

I have had the occasion to have had my kids around a friends kids that had head lice. She did inform me after she found out (thank you), but my kids never got them. So it may be that she just wants to start trouble.

I saw your plea again, and yes, it is possible that one child could get the head lice. I had problems with my husband's ex-wife and had to clean my "daughter's" head many a times. Her older sister had it once, but the boys never had it--nor myself. It was a long standing battle to get her to treat her house. I would definitely check her head for nits the moment your boyfriend picks her up, if she has them. Then you know the problem lies with his ex-wife and she needs to comb them all out and wash/treat her home. Again all the best. God Bless!

What is the length of the life cycle of lice? Could it be that the lice are at the ex-wife's house, but since the little girl goes to your house and then returns to the ex-wife on a regular schedule, she just happens to arrive home at the point in the life cycle when the nits are most visible?

Maybe you could skip a weekend and see if the ex-wife still notices the nits. I doubt she'd admit it, but if she still notices them hopefully she'll quit blaming you.

Years ago head lice were spreading through my kids' school. My daughter caught them but my son didn't, and neither did I even though I worked in my daughter's classroom as a teaching assistant every day. It took a lot of trying to totally eradicate them, and in the meantime I kept her in head scarves when she was at school (but not at home). My husband, son, and I never got them. So it definitely is possible for one family member to have them and not the others. But in your case I think there's something else going on - either the child has something else and not lice, or the ex is just making it up to make trouble. If the child supposedly has nits (eggs), she would also have whatever laid the nits. If there is something in her hair that looks like nits, it could just be flaking from dry scalp. Maybe it's whatever shampoo she uses when she's with her father.

Honey, I know how you feel. I am going through this exact same thing as we speak. My daughter started scratching her head and when we checked it out, she had the nits. We treated her immediately and sprayed down all the furniture and bedding.

I watch kids all day long, so we started checking everyones heads. My daughter had even just recently slept over at the house of one of the girls that I watch.

Suprisingly, no one else had any nits.

I washed all the linens from the beds and put all the stuffed animals in the dryer for 30 minutes on high heat and everything was fine.

Your problem is a little different though. I had the same problem with my boyfriends ex years ago. He always claimed that if the children had head lice then it was her fault. It was actually a mixture of both of our faults.

If the child comes to you and they have nits and you do a treatment and send her bacvk to the mother, it will not do any good.

The linen, stuffed animals and upholstery need to be treated in both homes as well. If you do a treatment on the child and the mother does not wash all the linens in hot water and put any stuffed animals in the dryer for 30 minutes on high heast, then the infestation will reoccur.

As far as the treatments like RID, you can only do them so many times. I would reccomend the mayo treatment for a child that age. You can find the mayonnaise treatment on any website about head lice. It would be cheaper and safer for a 2 year old.

Hope this helps. Oh, by the way. I have 7 kids in my house pretty much all the time, and only 1 had the head lice.

First, if you are a lice-free web surfer who is reading this, there is an entry below me written by a mother who used RID on her child to PREVENT him from getting lice? Don't do it. You do NOT use a product that fights an infection when the person does not have an infection. Lice are becoming resistant to RID. Why help speed it along? Plus, they are pesticides. Why subject the person (in most cases, a CHILD) to pesticides when they don't need it? Just use the essential oil shampoo repellent method like tea tree oil.

*sigh* There is a reason why most anti-infection medications are prescription-only.

Back to the original question:

I agree with the posters who said you need to clean BOTH homes and make sure everyone is checked and treated if necessary. Anyone who doesn't have lice should still use the repellent methods.

I can't see how her head would be swarming with lice after one weekend. Maybe the mother is trying to use the lice excuse to get back at you two. Can you take the child to the doctor before returning her to her mother so that the doctor can confirm she doesn't have lice? Can't hurt to have proper documentation so she doesn't try to claim neglect or something silly later on. Good luck!